A Closer Look at Today’s HousingWire Article

October 08, 2014

It is no secret that student debt is keeping recent college grads out of the housing market. We discussed the causes and obstacles preventing millennials from becoming homeowners in our September 10, 2014 blog post “Homeownership for Millennials.”

Taking a closer look at this issue, we examined HousingWire’s October 8, 2014 article “Student debt costs housing $83B a year” Trey Garrison takes an in-depth look at the numbers and exactly how student debt is holding back a new generation of homebuyers. Debt-to-income ratio is an important requirement that has to be met for Qualified Mortgages. The problem here is that students with even a couple hundred dollars worth of monthly student loan payments don’t meet requirements for most mortgage products. Keeping this new generation out of the market is basically withholding over one million home transactions a year, equating to a lot of money.

What is this article saying? The housing market, with all of its rules and regulations, has decidedly blocked a huge chunk of the American population from partaking in their share of the American dream. The HousingWire article clearly lays out the detrimental effects of student loans on the housing market. But the positive news is people recognize the negative impact this is having on our economy and are dedicated to continue raising awareness and making changes.